Review of "The Burning Girls: A Novel of Horror and Suspense" by C.J. Tudor

 

Vicar Jacqueline (Jack) Brooks has to leave her Nottingham church after a tragedy occurs in her congregation.



Jack is temporarily assigned to the Sussex village of Chapel Croft, whose pastor recently died. When Jack and her 15-year-old daughter Flo arrive in Chapel Croft they're dismayed by the small nondescript chapel and their cottage next door, which is dilapidated and uninviting.



Moreover, Chapel Croft has a sinister vibe, in part because of its dreadful history. Five hundred years ago, eight villagers - including two young girls - were burned at the stake during Queen Mary's purge of Protestants. Now the incident is commemorated every year by the burning of twig dolls on the anniversary of the purge.



The town also experienced a more recent misfortune. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls, named Merry and Joy, vanished without a trace. The general consensus was that the girls ran away, but the disappearances cast a lasting pall over the area.

To add to the dark atmosphere, the villagers say the ghosts of the burned Protestant girls haunt the chapel, and if you see them, something bad will happen to you.



Jack and Flo's arrival gets off to a sinister start when the vicar is presented with an anonymous gift that turns out to be an exorcism kit.



Soon afterwards, ghostly figures appear to mother and daughter, which teenage Flo - who's a hobby photographer - tries to capture on film....without success.



Jack wants to dismiss the phenomena as tricks of the light, but Flo doesn't buy it. As it turns out the paranormal warning may be legitimate, because Flo becomes the target of vicious teenage bullies and Jack is persecuted with sinister messages and a gossip campaign.



As they settle in, mother and daughter socialize with some of the locals: Flo with an outcast teenage boy named Lucas Wrigley, and Jack with a gossipy octogenarian called Joan and a reporter called Mike. Both Jack and Flo hear that disturbing things happen in Chapel Croft, and they soon come to see that this is true.

As all this is going on, a murderous ex-convict is released from prison, and starts to hunt for Jack. As the man makes his away across England, he leaves a string of calamities in his wake.



Jack and Flo are likable main characters. Jack is a modern vicar who sneaks ciggies, drinks an occasional glass of wine, enjoys modern films and popular music, and participates in the pub quiz;



and Flo is a mature teenager who knows self-defense, can set up a photography darkroom; and doesn't complain TOO much about leaving her friends in Nottingham.



One thing I didn't like is that both Jack and Flo blithely walk into dangerous situations RIGHT AFTER they tell themselves that naïve girls in horror movies do this very thing. If it was me, and I was all alone - and creepy things were happening - I wouldn't traipse into a musty basement after hearing rustling noises.....



or search a dark chapel after I see flickering lights.



I also feel the story is over-complicated, with too much going on.

That said, I enjoyed the novel. Tudor is a master of surprises, and there are plenty of twists in this suspenseful horror/mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley, C.J. Tudor, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the book

Rating: 3.5 stars